Cimarron is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Gray County,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,981. It is located along Highway 50.

History

Cimarron was first settled in 1878. It took its name from a fork in the

Chisholm Trail The Chisholm Trail ( ) was a stock trail and wagon route used in the post-Civil War era to drive cattle overland from ranches in southern Texas, across the Red River into Indian Territory, and northward to rail stops in Kansas. The trail cons ...

which led travelers to the Cimarron River. Between 1887 and 1893, a

county seat war A county seat war is an American phenomenon that occurred mainly in the Old West as it was being settled and county lines determined. Incidents elsewhere, such as in Michigan, Appalachian Ohio, and West Virginia, have also been recorded. As ...

took place in Gray County that involved several notable

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

figures, such as

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

Bill Tilghman William Matthew Tilghman Jr. (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in ...

, and

Ben Daniels Ben Daniels (born 10 June 1964) is an English actor. Initially a stage actor, Daniels was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor for '' Never the Sinner'' (1991), the Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for ''900 Oneonta'' ...

. As a result of the dispute, Cimarron became the permanent county seat of Gray County. In the wee hours of June 10, 1893,

Bill Doolin William Doolin (1858–August 24, 1896) was an American bandit outlaw and founder of the Wild Bunch, sometimes known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang. Like the earlier Dalton Gang alone, it specialized in robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches in ...

and four members of his gang robbed a train one-half mile east of Cimarron. In 2016, the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...

was involved in a collision near Cimarron. The train, en route to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, derailed on a section of track that was damaged by a runaway truck. 28 people were injured in the derailment, which caused over $1.4 million in damage. The tracks were knocked out of alignment the morning before the derailment when a fully loaded truck from Cimarron Crossing Feeders, an adjacent business, ran out of control down a hill leading to the tracks. The truck was removed, but the incident was not reported to local authorities or

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

, the owner of the tracks.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , all of it land.

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Cimarron has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

The 2020 United States census counted 1,981 people, 745 households, and 526 families in Cimarron. The population density was 1,719.6 per square mile (663.9/km). There were 829 housing units at an average density of 719.6 per square mile (277.8/km). The racial makeup was 80.31% (1,591)

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

European American European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(75.06%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

), 0.61% (12)

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

, 0.66% (13) Native American or

Alaska Native Alaska Natives (also known as Native Alaskans, Alaskan Indians, or Indigenous Alaskans) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of Alaska that encompass a diverse arena of cultural and linguistic groups, including the I ...

, 0.4% (8) Asian, 0.0% (0)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

, 7.62% (151) from other races, and 10.4% (206) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race was 20.44% (405) of the population. Of the 745 households, 38.7% had children under the age of 18; 58.7% were married couples living together; 19.9% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 25.8% of households consisted of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.7 and the average family size was 3.1. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 23.9% of the population. 29.6% of the population was under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 101.2 males. The 2016-2020 5-year

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

estimates show that the median household income was $93,125 (with a margin of error of +/- $16,215) and the median family income was $94,907 (+/- $5,560). Males had a median income of $49,803 (+/- $8,036) versus $33,262 (+/- $7,728) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $42,536 (+/- $4,435). Approximately, 4.9% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 2.5% of those ages 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,184 people, 789 households, and 569 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 842 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.5% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 5.4% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 19.1% of the population. There were 789 households, of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 27.9% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.27. The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 32.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26% were from 25 to 44; 24% were from 45 to 64; and 11.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,934 people, 720 households, and 526 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 749 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 92.50%

, 0.41%

, 0.62% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.10%

, 4.86% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 9.82% of the population. There were 720 households, out of which 39.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were

living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.17. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.6% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $41,379, and the median income for a family was $48,636. Males had a median income of $31,402 versus $21,406 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $17,970. About 4.6% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the

, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The community is served by Cimarron–Ensign USD 102 public school district.

Transportation

* Cimarron Municipal Airport

Notable people

* Ian Campbell, former defensive end for Kansas State University * Nicholas Klaine, journalist (editor of the ''Dodge City Times'' and ''New West Echo''), built the Cimarron Hotel

References

External links

City of Cimarron

Cimarron – Directory of Public Officials

USD 102
local school district
Cimarron City Map
KDOT {{Authority control Cities in Kansas County seats in Kansas Cities in Gray County, Kansas Kansas populated places on the Arkansas River 1878 establishments in Kansas Populated places established in 1878